‘The Naked Gun’ (2025) cast and character guide

Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr.

Oscar nominee Liam Neeson is best known for his intense dramatic roles and latter-day run as an unlikely action hero. This makes him uniquely suited to lead The Naked Gun, which, at its best, mines zaniness from gravitas.

A familiar face on the big screen, Neeson has starred in a vast and diverse range of blockbusters, with highlights including Schindler’s List (1993), Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999), Love Actually (2003), and Batman Begins (2005).

In recent years, he’s fully leaned into action, headlining the Taken series (2008–2014) in addition to white-knuckle flicks like The Grey (2011), The Commuter (2018), and Retribution (2023).

Up next, Neeson will lend his talents to the films Cold Storage, 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, Hotel Tehran, and The Mongoose.

In The Naked Gun, Neeson stars as Los Angeles Police Squad detective Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Nielsen’s famous lieutenant.

“Liam Neeson is probably the only actor alive in the 21st century who could do what Leslie Nielsen did,” The Naked Gun producer Seth MacFarlane told Entertainment Weekly. “[He’s] larger than life on screen and yet so honest, two things that don’t always mesh, but he’s really able to be that kind of an on-camera powerhouse.”

Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport

Pamela Anderson rose to prominence as a model and breakout star of Baywatch (1992–1997), though you may also recognize her as a contestant on two different seasons of Dancing with the Stars.

Anderson’s career took on new shades in the 2020s, starting with her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago (2022), followed by her 2023 Netflix documentary and memoir, Love, Pamela.

Anderson also earned acclaim for her performance as a middle-aged Las Vegas showgirl in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl (2024), which earned her Golden Globe and SAG nominations.

Most recently, the actress and one-time tabloid fixture led a revival of Tennessee Williams’ Camino Real at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She and Neeson have also been sparking rumors of an off-screen romance.

Anderson plays Beth Davenport, a femme fatale in the style of Priscilla Presley’s Jane Spencer from the original films.

“I wanted to bring to the character some vulnerability and sincerity. It’s really easy to play way over the top, and it’s good to have some groundedness when there’s this comedy happening. So that was a challenge,” Anderson told EW. “You have to kind of jump off the deep end together. We’re going to be silly, but you also have to remain a true character. So it’s a dance.”

Paul Walter Hauser as Capt. Ed Hocken Jr.

Paul Walter Hauser broke out in I, Tonya (2017) and as the title character in Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell (2019).

Since then, he’s built a versatile career across film and television, appearing on shows like Cobra Kai (2019–2025) and Apple TV+’s Black Bird (2022), the latter of which earned him both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his chilling portrayal of convicted killer Larry Hall.

On the big screen, Hauser recently appeared in Cruella (2021), Inside Out 2 (2024), and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).

He can next be seen in the biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere and the action comedy Balls Up.

Outside of acting, Hauser can be found in the squared circle. In May 2024, he signing with Major League Wrestling (MLW) and has also made appearances with All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

In The Naked Gun, Hauser plays Capt. Ed Hocken Jr., the son of George Kennedy’s original Police Squad captain.

Hauser spoke with EW about the “surprising amount” of texts, calls, and emails from people reacting to early looks at the film and his character. “There was a really weird emotional reaction people were having because of how those films fit into their childhood,” he explained. “Clearly, there’s a desire for this.”

Danny Huston as Richard Cane

Danny Huston, the son of legendary director John Huston, has made a name for himself playing bad guys, from the vampire Marlow in 30 Days of Night (2007) to the brutal Ben “The Butcher” Diamond on Magic City (2012–2013) to the Axeman on American Horror Story: Coven (2013–2014).

Fans may also recognize Huston from his roles on Yellowstone (2018–2019) and Succession (2019), though we’re particularly partial to his turn as the cucked fiancé of Nicole Kidman in Jonathan Glazer’s 2004 film Birth.

Up next, Huston will star opposite Al Pacino, Rachel Brosnahan, and Peter Dinklage in Lear Rex, a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear.

In The Naked Gun, Huston plays Richard Cane, the powerful owner of Edentech, whose shady Project Inferno suggests he’s up to no good.

“I played into the archetype that I felt was required for this particular film and style, and relished that,” he told EW, adding that he drew inspiration from Stanley Kubrick’s dark comedy classic Dr. Strangelove (1964).

Kevin Durand as Sig Gustafson

TV fans will recognize the imposing Kevin Durand from Lost (2008–2010), The Strain (2014–2017), and Locke & Key (2021–2022).

On the big screen, Durand played the villainous Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and recently appeared in genre flicks like Abigail (2024), Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024), and Clown in a Cornfield (2025).

He’s also set to continue his horror streak with roles in Ready or Not: Here I Come and Ithaqua.

Durand portrays Sig Gustafson, Cane’s head of security and right-hand man.

CCH Pounder as Chief Davis

CCH Pounder is no stranger to the screen, and fans will surely recognize her from The X-Files (1994), ER (1994–1997), and The Shield (2002–2008), all three of which scored her Emmy nominations. She’s spent much of the past decade playing Dr. Loretta Wade on NCIS: New Orleans (2014–2021).

She currently stars as Mo’at in the Avatar franchise (2009–present), and appeared in films such as Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Rustin (2023).

Pounder plays Chief Davis, who seems quite fed up with Frank Jr.’s antics.

Liza Koshy as Detective Barnes

Liza Koshy found success on social media, specifically YouTube, and she’s now carving out a career as an actor, host, and producer.

She earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for her work as executive producer and host of Nickelodeon’s Double Dare revival (2018–2019), and is now a go-to voice talent, with roles in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) and the Netflix animated hit KPop Demon Hunters (2025).

Coming up, Koshy will star alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the holiday action comedy The Man with the Bag.

In The Naked Gun, Koshy plays Detective Barnes, who’s part of the Police Squad team with Frank Jr. At the premiere, she cheekily claimed it to be “the most dramatic role I’ve ever been lucky to have.”

She continued, “It’s so dramatic, I’m so serious. I play pure drama.”

Moses Jones as Not Nordberg Jr.

After early roles in Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016) and Night School (2018), Moses Jones found success on the small screen with roles onThe Haves and the Have Nots (2018), Doom Patrol (2022), For All Mankind (2023–2024), and The Grosse Pointe Garden Society (2025).

Now, Jones is taking on the hyper-specific role of Not Nordberg Jr., whose name should make it clear how the comedy addresses the late, controversial O.J. Simpson, who played the chaotic Det. Nordberg in the original films.

As director Akiva Schaffer told EW, “The first time I would tell any friend, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of writing this thing,’ they go, ‘What are you going to do about O.J.?’ So we had to answer the O.J. question.”

Cody Rhodes as Bartender

Pro wrestler Cody Rhodes is on top of the world these days. A second-generation superstar, Rhodes has worked to reshape the current landscape of professional wrestling as both an in-ring performer and co-founder of AEW. In 2022, he made a triumphant return to WWE after departing the company in 2016.

Since then, he’s been on an absolute tear: headlining WrestleMania four times and winning numerous championships.

Now, Rhodes is ready to break into Hollywood. Long before The Naked Gun, he studied at the Howard Fine Acting School right out of high school. He also had a recurring role on Arrow (2016–2018), and recent reports suggest he could be playing vengeful Air Force vet Guile in an upcoming live-action adaptation of the Street Fighter video game series.

In The Naked Gun, Rhodes makes a quick but memorable cameo as a bartender who, judging by the trailer, comes off as all attitude when he first meets Frank Jr. However, things take a violent turn when Frank Jr. grabs the back of the bartender’s head, slams his face into the bar, and breaks his nose.

Busta Rhymes as Bank Robber

We all know Busta Rhymes as a force in the music world, known for his rapid-fire flow and era-defining hits.

But in between dropping bars, he’s appeared in films like Shaft (2000), Narc (2002), and Halloween: Resurrection (2002), in which he memorably drop-kicked Michael Myers.

More recently, he was the Dragon in season 4 of The Masked Singer (2020), though he was eliminated in the very first episode.

Rhymes appears in The Naked Gun in a brief (and very funny) cameo as a bank robber.